(Thomas POV)
It had been a few days since we'd come home from Italy, long enough for the rhythm of Forks to remember itself. The forest was quiet again. The rain had returned to its usual whisper through the pines, the kind of steady gray that felt like the earth exhaling.
The Cullen's had already fallen back into routine, school, pretending at normalcy, keeping their world balanced on the razor edge between what was real and what had to stay hidden.
I wasn't quite back in that rhythm yet. Carlisle was still sorting out my correspondence credits from Nepal, and the principal wouldn't let me set foot in class until they came through.
Something I was happy to point put to Edythe as I dropped her off at the school entrance. Edythe decided against having her car shipped back to Forks from New York, she said she wanted to play up her role as the passenger princess for the first time ever. Naturally, I wasn't complaining.
Our kiss goodby was interrupted by a mean tempered gremlin that answered to the name Alice.
Her voice cut through our moment like the world's most cheerful alarm clock.
"Alright, lovebirds," she said, tapping on the door of the truck with one perfectly manicured finger. "Some of us actually have to pretend to be high school students today, and the bell rings in—" she checked an invisible watch "—two minutes. Move it or lose it."
Edythe pulled back, the faintest smirk tugging at her lips. "You know, for someone who claims to see the future, your timing is suspiciously bad."
Alice grinned. "No, it's perfect. You were one second away from getting us all a reputation."
I rolled my eyes. "Pretty sure that ship sailed a long time ago, Pixie."
She leaned on the open window. "Mmhmm. Keep calling me names, mountain man. Just remember, I'm learning to see around your ability to block my sight."
Edythe laughed, soft but melodic. "You're just mad about that block of time you can't see."
Alice put on a mock serious expression on her face, "Hey, that nearly two weeks I can't see.
Something to do with you two during late April and early May. If I couldn't see everyone from the Volturi still in Volterra at that time I would be very worried."
I just smiled at her, "Think of it as time to relish how us 'non seeing the future people' see the world, Alice."
Alice gave an exaggerated sigh and straightened, hands on her hips. "You two are insufferable," she declared, though the grin tugging at her lips ruined the act. "Fine, keep your little mystery. Just don't come crying to me when whatever you're planning blows up in your faces."
Edythe's smile was serene, unreadable. "Don't worry too much, Alice. If your block is what I think it is, you will be plenty busy."
Alice pouted, "I am telling Jasper you two are picking on me."
That reminded me, "Hey Alice, I am stealing Jasper tonight for a guy thing. No asking him what it's about."
She waved over her shoulder, "Yeah, yeah. He just disappeared from my sight so he must be okay with your plan. And I see me and Edythe riding home with Edward after dropping the grounded girl off at home. Stay out of trouble or at least try too."
Edythe lingered a heartbeat longer, her eyes catching the morning light in a way that made it hard to think straight. "You know," she murmured, "you provoke her on purpose."
"Wouldn't dream of it," I said, all innocence.
Her lips curved, that quiet, knowing smile that always gave me away. "Liar."
She leaned in one last time, her breath cool against my skin. "Try not to do anything reckless while I'm gone."
"No promises," I said softly.
She smirked, closing the door. "Didn't think so."
The truck suddenly felt too empty when she was gone, her scent still lingering faintly in the air, pine and cold wind and the ever-present sweet smell of sugar.
I sat for a long moment, watching the last of the students filter into the building. The clouds hung low and silver, promising rain that hadn't yet fallen. Forks looked exactly as it always did, small, damp, and half-asleep, but after everything that had happened, it somehow felt… steadier.
Still, there was one loose end left hanging.
I started the truck and turned onto the road that led back into town.
It was time to see Uncle Charlie.
Charlie's house looked exactly the same — cruiser in the drive, porch light a little crooked, the kind of place that doesn't pretend to be more than it is. I parked behind the cruiser and knocked.
The door swung open before I finished raising my hand. "Thomas," Charlie said, giving me a once-over. "You really are back."
"Morning, Uncle Charlie."
He stepped aside. "Get in here before you soak through. Coffee's on."
The kitchen hadn't changed: battered table, chipped mugs, the smell of over-brewed coffee that probably kept this town running. He set a mug in front of me and sat.
For a moment he just looked at me, not quite stern, not quite smiling. "Listen," he said, clearing his throat, "I never thanked you for those calls. From Nepal. When… things were rough." He didn't say Edward's name. He didn't have to. "You were busy doing your thing, but you checked in anyway. Made sure she ate. Talked her through some pretty lousy nights."
I nodded. "It wasn't much."
"It was enough." He took a sip. "You care about her. I never doubted that."
"You know more than most what she did for me. She basically put me back together again, so there is nothing I won't do for her."
He grunted in approval at my words, "So you got back just in time for my blood pressure to spike again. She takes off for days with no word to me and the next time I see her she looks like a zombie in... his arms. She is going to give me a heart attack."
I just sighed at Charlies frustration, "At least she came back safe, and that's what truly matters to you. I know it."
"Yeah. Safe—and grounded until she's thirty." He didn't miss a beat. "And that boy's on thin ice with me. Real thin."
"I figured."
He paused to take a sip from his cup. "So how was Nepal, you get the answers you were looking for?"
"It was okay, not sure I will ever go back though. I think I'm on a different path than they are. But the real reason I came to talk to you, was to get some advice. How did you know Renee was the one you wanted to spend your life with?"
Charlie froze halfway through another sip. The mug hung suspended in his hand as he blinked at me, caught completely off guard.
"Well," he said after a long pause, "that came outta left field."
I gave a half-smile. "Yeah, I figured it might."
He set the mug down slowly, leaning back in his chair. "You're seriously want to ask me for marriage advice?"
I nodded once. "Dead serious, even after she left you stayed committed to her. That fact alone means you knew in your heart she was the one for you."
Charlie scratched the back of his neck, buying himself time. "Huh. Guess I shouldn't be surprised. You've always been one to think things through before jumping."
"That's one way to put it," I said with a faint grin.
He studied me for a long moment before sighing. "Renee and I…" He trailed off, his eyes un-focusing a little, like he was looking backward through time. "It wasn't fireworks right away. Not like some storybook thing. She was bright, too bright for me, probably, but she had this way of making everything feel… bigger. Like life had more color with her in it."
He rubbed at his jaw, eyes softening. "You don't know right away, not really. You just… stop imagining life without them in it. Then one day, you realize that thought alone scares the hell out of you, and that's when you know."
I sat quietly, letting the words sink in.
Charlie leaned forward then, elbows on the table. "You're asking because of Edythe, right?"
"Yeah."
He nodded slowly, understanding dawning behind the weariness in his eyes. "She's a good girl. Quiet, but you can tell she sees everything. Kind of like you, more thoughtful than most."
He gave a small, crooked smile. "Just make sure what you're feeling isn't about owing her something. Love's gotta be a choice, not a debt."
"I know," I said quietly. "It's not about that. She didn't fix me. She just… saw me. Even when I couldn't."
Charlie nodded once, a genuine warmth flickering in his expression. "Then I'd say you've got your answer."
He stood, picking up his empty mug. "And for what it's worth, you don't need my blessing. but you've got it anyway. Just… don't tell anyone I got sentimental, alright?"
I stood too, smiling. "Wouldn't dream of it."
Charlie grunted, heading for the sink. "Good. Now go on before I start giving real fatherly advice. That's a slippery slope, kid."
"Thanks, Uncle Charlie," I said, stepping toward the door.
He waved me off with one hand, muttering, "Yeah, yeah. And don't you dare elope without telling me first."
I laughed as I walked back to the truck.